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Jury finds man insane in utility worker attack

The Associated Press

Posted:
01/17/2014 03:26:45 PM CST

Updated:
01/17/2014 03:27:00 PM CST

FRESNO, Calif.—A California jury has found a man insane in a 2012 attack on a Pacific Gas & Electric crew that gained national attention because of the hatchet-wielding hitchhiker who said he intervened in the attack.

Caleb McGillivary gained Internet fame as "Kai the Hatchet-Wielding Hitchhiker" after he gave an interview in which he said he used the hatchet to fend off a further attack by the suspect, Jett McBride.

The Fresno Bee reports (http://bit.ly/1b8BqQv) a jury on Thursday found McBride insane when he drove his car into the utility crew in Fresno. The jury previously convicted him of assault with a deadly weapon.

McBride testified that he thought he was Jesus Christ. His attorney says McBride will likely be sent to a state hospital.

McGillivary, meanwhile, has pleaded not guilty to a murder charge in New Jersey.